Modeling of the Attenuation Effects of the Atmosphere for IR/VIS Application

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Information Systems, Sensors
OBJECTIVE: Develop enhanced models for atmospheric (troposphere, ionosphere, etc.) effects on light propagating in different visible (Vis) /infrared (IR) frequency bands, for use with a scene generation tool to help create Vis/IR scenes in real time.
DESCRIPTION: Numerous higher order persistent effects on radiation are caused by the atmosphere, notably the troposphere and ionosphere. Some effects that are of interest are: atmospheric attenuation, cloud background effects, earth limb effects, celestial background effects, and auroral effects. Current models that address atmospheric effects on Vis/IR radiation produce medium to high fidelity results; however, they do not provide results in real time. The desired model should enable the prediction and preparation of effects on the sensor systems with regard to performance, fidelity, and/or resolution in real time with the possibility of use in concert with scene generation tools like Fast Line-of-sight Imagery for Target and Exhaust-plume Signatures (FLITES). Techniques to achieve this may include improvements in mathematical techniques, improvements in data processing, hardware or software acceleration or a hybrid approach, optimization, or other techniques.
PHASE I: Provide a proof of concept of the model. The model will capture the key areas where new development is needed, suggest appropriate methods and technologies to realize the desire of streamlining scenario generation based on the research performed, and incorporate new technologies researched during design development. The contractor should identify the attenuation effects along the Vis/IR bands for the effects of the atmosphere (ionosphere and troposphere).
PHASE II: Based upon the findings from Phase I, the contractor will complete a detailed prototype design of the software/model incorporating government performance requirements. This prototype design should be used to form the development and implementation of a mature, full-scale capability in Phase III that could run in real time.
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Scale-up the capability from the prototype utilizing the new software/model technologies developed in Phase II into a mature, fieldable capability. Deploy the fully tested, verified, and validated missile defense capability. Modeling effects of the atmosphere would be applicable to industries that utilize sensor and satellites in support of future ground and flight tests.
REFERENCES:

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KEYWORDS: visible, infrared, sensor, ionosphere, ionospheric, troposphere, tropospheric, atmosphere, environment, environment effects, model, simulation, attenuation